Pedagogy in Paleopathology

Abstract

The study of diseases, anomalies and abnormalities in skeletal or mummified bodies representing peoples of the past, has been the stepchild of Archaeology and medical pathology for many years. In the past the emphasis has been on documentation of unusual findings. Little effort has been made to educate researchers and teachers in this field. A course of instruction in Paleopathology was held for 4 years at the U.S. National Museum. In an assessment of the teaching of Paleopathology in North America Kerley found that 68 of 340 anthropology departments and museums with physical anthropology sections offered such courses. There was considerable variation in the organization of the courses, material covered, teaching aids available, instruction methods, and the general orientation of the instruction. In 1972 a course in Paleopathology was first offered at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and has continued since. The problem of communicating concepts of pathology, epidemiology, and demography to inexperienced university students has necessitated continuing modification of the course. Education in Paleopathology has received little emphasis in the past. Our teaching methods may be of value to others. We are documenting our experiences with the hope that they are helpful and that in the future there may be increased interest in and some standardization of teaching methods.     

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Arthur C. Aufderheide and Conrado Rodriguez-Martin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. 478 pp.     

The “Gout of the Medici”: Making the modern diagnosis using paleopathology

Documentary sources show that painful joint disease afflicted several members of the Medici family, which dominated Renaissance Florence in Italy. The term frequently reported in contemporary archives to indicate these morbid episodes is “gout.” Paleopathology allows us to verify the nosological information obtained from the written documents and to clarify the nature of the rheumatological condition that afflicted the Medici.     

Just How Emergent is the Emergence of Semiosis?

Studying the origin of semiosis is a task obscured by terminological and metaphysical issues which create an ambiguous set of definitions for biosemiotics when referring to the concept of emergence. The question is, how emergent can semiosis be? And what are the conditions for semiosis to be an emergent of a certain type? This paper will attempt to briefly deal with the general terminology of emergence from a philosophical point of view and will discuss the characterization of semiosis as an emergent phenomenon based on the distinctions made by Bedau, Kim and Chalmers. Accordingly, we will consider the possibility of strong and weak emergence in an attempt to bring some clarity to what it means for something in biosemiotics to be an emergent and how the philosophical concepts play out when applied to biosemiotic research. In inquiring into the metaphysical status of semiosis, we change our semiotic theories to correspond to the assumptions contained in the elementary objects of our theories. This being the case, the way semiosis–the constitutive element that it is for semiotics–is taken to be with regards to its possible ontology, will conduct to different research objects for the long-term investigation of its origins and necessary conditions.     

Viperin, a key player in the antiviral response

Viperin is an antiviral protein that is induced by different viruses, type I interferon, poly(I:C) and lipopolysaccharide, which is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and lipid droplets. Recently, our knowledge on the mechanism by which viperin inhibits viral replication has strongly increased. Interestingly, it also became clear that viperin can be used by viruses to increase their infectivity. Here, our current knowledge on the induction of viperin and its effect on virus replication will be reviewed.     

Health Is not always written in bone: Using a modern comorbidity index to assess disease load in paleopathology

Paleopathology has revealed much about disease in the past but is usually limited to conditions with osteological manifestations; this often excludes acute soft tissue infections and causes of death for most individuals in the past and present. Our understanding of the evolution of disease is essential for contextualizing and predicting the epidemiological shifts that are happening in modern society, as high rates of infectious disease coexist alongside high rates of chronic disease in rates unlike those observed previously in human history. Moreover, many physiological states not previously classified as “disease” (obesity) have become pathologized, influencing our conception of disease and what defines health. By using the Galler Collection, a pre‐antibiotic and pre‐chemotherapeutic osteological series with modern autopsy records, our research quantifies disease burden of the past using the Charlson Index (CI), a modern comorbidity index of disease severity. Galler Collection remains and autopsy records were scored with the Charlson Index to correlate bone findings with soft tissue findings, and statistical analysis was performed for cumulative scores and absolute diagnosis counts, with patients stratified by sex and cause of death (pneumonia or cancer). Osteological diagnosis counts were more predictive of soft‐tissue autopsy disease counts than were associated cumulative CI scores. Diagnosis counts and CI scores for osteological data were more closely related to associated soft tissue data for cancer patients than for pneumonia patients. This research indicates how interdisciplinary paleopathological analysis assists in making more reliable assessments of health and mortality in the past, with implications for trending and predicting future epidemiological shifts. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:215–221, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The FSG's land: managing a fieldwork resource

The Field Studies Council occupies land for at least three purposes. At all ten Field Centres the immediate surroundings contribute significantly to the ambience in which the visitor/staff community lives and works. Secondly, it is a great advantage for a Centre to have working land free from the encumbrances of regular negotiations with its owner; land which can be managed to suit the requirements of the teaching programme. At six of the Field Centres, the 'estate' is large enough to contribute to this purpose.
The third reason for occupying land is, perhaps, the most important. We ought to want to demonstrate that we can apply our ecological knowledge for its own practical end. We should be able to show how to manipulate succession, how to crop the stand, how to maintain the view, and how to recycle the energy and the materials. I would like to think that the holding of land (and water) and the demonstration of its sound management was part of the working ethic of the Field Studies Council. We need to manage a range of habitats, stands and communities, to maintain their qualities and to demonstrate that we care about and can care for each of them. All this presupposes that we develop or invest in the skills and background necessary for the process.
The land we manage tells its own story. If we manage it well it will increase our corporate and individual satisfactions. It could mean that we have within our ranks the new yeomen; with them we could lead the original yeoman into a new attitude and enterprise which will maintain, and may even enhance, the face of Britain when the odds might otherwise be against it.     

植物园的“最佳未来”

国立威尔斯 (士 )植物园是按里约全球最高会议明确的可持续性原则而建立的第一个国家植物园。可持续性虽然是其总方针 ,却并非其焦点 ,只是其工作的准则。在该园 ,持续性是建立在社会、政治、经济、文化、精神和环境诸方面的整体性基础上 ,该园也提供了广泛的建议有助于人们对未来作出新的选择。它是“最佳未来”的旗手。本文论述了该园是怎样通过最佳未来的途径来帮助复苏地区经济。事例包括 :生物技术孵化器、合作旅游、地方产品开发和园内零售及国内传统康复和学习中心。也对园内“活机器”的永循环、生长量活锅炉、有机农场、废石用作覆盖、如何建球形增温园和有机菜园等提供想法。概括了该园的科学作用和在该地区的植物保护工作中的作用。本文的重点是以文中的观点说明植物园可以而且应该帮助增加财富 ,改善人民健康和促进社会稳定     

Clinical trials in systemic sclerosis: lessons learned and outcomes

The pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) is complex and largely unclear. The clinical heterogeneity of the disease and its progression over a number of years makes the choice of endpoints in the design of clinical trials difficult. The overwhelming need in this disease is to diagnose it early and identify those patients who will benefit most from early, aggressive treatment that potentially can alter the clinical disease course. To achieve this, innumerable challenges must be overcome. This article reviews data from recent clinical trials and the lessons derived from retrospective observational studies, databases, and patient registries. Taken together, these observations will help to improve our understanding of the diverse clinical course of SSc and permit refinement of existing outcome measures for the design of future clinical trials, in which the likelihood of observing a positive treatment effect with the drugs at our disposal will be maximized.     

Obelionic cranial deformation in the Puebloan Southwest

As a form of cranial deformation, obelionic flattening is rare. Originally named and described by Stewart (J Wash Acad Sci 29 ( 1939 ) 460–465), based on a small sample from Florida, it has been little noted since. Previously [Nelson and Madimenos, Paper presented at the Paleopathology Association annual meeting (2007)], we reported the discovery of two individuals from the Pueblo III Gallina site of Cañada Simon I who exhibit flattening of this type. Although technically undescribed in the Southwest before now, there are tantalizing clues in the literature that it occurred in low frequencies throughout the Ancestral Pueblo world. To determine whether the obelionic flattening found at Cañada Simon I was isolated or an indication of a more widespread phenomenon, we undertook a survey of crania from other Gallina sites, Chaco Canyon, and the literature (type of deformation can be determined on lateral photographs of crania properly positioned along the Frankfort Horizontal). We examined 146 crania (78 firsthand) of which seven exhibit obelionic flattening. Our results indicate that obelionic flattening should be added to the suite of cranial deformations that occur in the Southwest. Here, we propose parameters by which obelionic flattening can be described and differentiated from the more common lambdoidal and occipital forms and suggest that the three types of flattening form a continuum of cradleboard induced deformation, although the exact mechanism for obelionic flattening remains elusive. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The need for academic generalists

Academia should be willing to shoulder some of the responsibility for the current dearth of new therapeutic drugs. Our research funding is predicated on the assumption that it will bring value to society, but our emphasis on scientific specialization hinders our ability to add value when a broader vision is required. A solution is the creation of an academy of science generalists motivated to bring together clinical and basic scientists, academia and the private sector, government legislators and industry. A small investment in academic generalists could yield benefits far beyond its modest cost.     

Bioelectronics and cancer

The appearance of oxygen on our globe induced profound changes in the nature of living systems which started to differentiate and build complex structures with complex functions. Oxidation was added to fermentation and unbridled proliferation was subjected to regulation. Fermentation demanded no structure, being the result of the action of a series of single molecules. Oxidation, with its electron flow, demanded structure and electronic mobility. To produce meaningful structures and complex functions the action of the single molecules had to be integrated. The question is: how could oxygen bring about these transformations? These changes are not limited to the distant past because in every division the cell has to revert, to some extent, to the undifferentiated, fermentative, proliferative state of ist earlier anaerobic period. After having completed its division, it has to find its way back to its oxidative resting state. If this road of return is deranged the cell has to go on dividing as it does in cancer. By elucidating the details of these processes we can hope to be able to control them. We can control only what we understand (Bernal). That oxygen can induce profound changes in cell life can be demonstrated even in the acute experiment. L. Pasteur showed that fermentation is inhibited by the admission of oxygen (“Pasteur Reaction”), and H. G. Crabtree demonstrated the opposite effect. The intimate relation of cancer and oxygen was made evident by H. Goldblatt and G. Cameron who provoked malignant transformation in their tissue culture by periodically limiting their oxygen supply. O. Warburg attributed the changes, induced by O₂, to a wealth of energy it produced. Undoubtedly, without a new and rich source of energy these changes could not have occurred. Energy made them possible, but energy offers no mechanism. The chemical mechanism underlying these transformations will be the main topic of this paper and it will be shown that charge transfer is one of the central biological reactions. A biologist trying to understand life without electronic mobility is comparable to a Martian trying to understand our civilization without knowing about electricity. This paper will chiefly be concerned with principles. The chemical methods employed will be discussed in a subsequent paper by Dr. L. Egyud.     

An early-flowering genotype of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Populus</Emphasis>

Unlike herbaceous, annual crops, trees are not highly domesticated and, therefore, have wild relatives with which they are interfertile. They are also long-lived perennials that produce copious amounts of pollen and seed, which are often disseminated over considerable distances by the wind. Federal regulators have made it clear that before transgenic trees can be grown commercially in the U.S., it will be necessary to develop a strategy to mitigate the risk of transgene spread into the environment. One way to satisfy this requirement is to genetically engineer reproductive sterility. Because of its many useful attributes, poplar has becomethe model tree species for research community. However, because of its relatively long juvenile period, the development of a reliable sterility system for poplar is taking longer than expected. By having an early-flowering genotype of poplar, it will be possible to make much faster progress in our efforts to develop a reliable transgene-confinement system. We have identified a genotype ofPopulus alba that can be induced to flower within nine months of being regenerated.     

Curriculum development and technology incorporation in teaching neuroscience to graduate students in a medical school environment

Today's neuroscience faculty member wears multiple hats and requires diverse skills to succeed in the competitive environment in which they find themselves. A common refrain from graduates is that there is a need for better training in the diverse, multiple skills that they will need to succeed in obtaining a faculty position and excelling in that position once it is obtained. Our university recently developed a new neuroscience graduate program that allowed us to create a curriculum and core courses de novo and that could be tailored to provide training in diverse skills used by everyday neuroscience faculty members. The current article details our rationale, design, and implementation of this new curriculum and its two major core courses. The genesis of the new curriculum also provided an opportune time to introduce and test new teaching technology in the two neuroscience core courses. The technology incorporated included on-line WebCT course sites, computer performance system, and the Tegrity system. Herein, we elaborate on our experiences with the use of this technology in the small class graduate course setting and provide insight on student feedback on the perceived effectiveness of the technology. The mechanisms and considerations that are needed for incorporation of such technology are also discussed. While no single curriculum or technology incorporation scheme will be applicable to all programs, it is hoped that our experiences in curriculum design and technology incorporation will be beneficial to other universities as they consider refining existing programs or beginning new ones.     

复杂性与脑功能

EEG代表了大脑活动的一种电信号,但是用它来研究脑的功能活动是非常困难的.近年来由于非线性动力学的新发展,为我们提供了从一维EEG的时间序列提取脑的多维动力系统的信息,其中一个重要的方法是测量“关联维数”,但发现EEG是非平稳的混沌态,分维的知识只能给出系统的几何特征.而非平稳性表现出的是动态特性.因此我们对EEC的“复杂性”进行了研究,并与其它已知的标准的奇异吸引子做了比较.     

Purging the Frontier from our Mind: Crafting a New Fisheries Policy

American fishery policy is imprisoned by mental models that defeat coherence concerning the formulation of promising management futures. The idea of the frontier is at the core of current policy incoherence. Images—and specious accounts—of: (1) unowned fish; (2) IFQs/ITQs as property rights; (3) private ownership as necessary and sufficient for individuals (called owners) to suddenly become far-sighted stewards of nature; and (4) rights-based fisheries combine to defeat innovative thought about how to extricate ourselves from deep conceptual confusion. Until we purge the frontier—with its associated images—from our mind it will be difficult to undertake ecosystem management. More seriously, it will be impossible to rectify existing governance and management arrangements that are responsible for the degraded state of America’s fisheries.     

Studies on the Chemical Properties of Crotalaria juncea Linn. Seed Gum

Crotalaria juncea Linn. is an annual berbaceous plant of Crotalaria Linn. of the Leguminosae. It is widely used as green manure in our country, because its seed contaius 26.90% endosperm, of which more than 70% belong to galactomannan. Therfore it is also a kind of plant contained gum. The ratio between galactose and mannose is 1:2.3 in the galactomanuans. The seed gum of the Crotalaria juncea Li. in water will increase its solubility and viscosity as the temperature increases, but when the temperature is increasing over 70℃, it will cause the viscosity to decrease greatly. In the condition of alkaline medium, Crotalaria juncea Linn. seed gum solution with high viscosity can easily connect with borax to form gel. It is also used in the petroleum industry for having this good property. Crotalaria juncea Linn. seed gum may be a newsources for the hydraulic fracturing fluids of hydrogel.     

Making the case for human life extension: personal arguments

In the close to medium future, the life sciences might permit a vast extension of the human life span. I will argue that this is a very desirable development for the individual person. The question whether death is a harm to the dying is irrelevant here. All it takes is that being alive is good for the living person and not being alive is not good for anyone. Thus, living persons who expect to live on happily are rationally required to want to stay alive. Eventual uncertainty whether it will be possible to be happy in the future provides no objection, but rather an incentive to try. This view, however, may be naive in assuming that persons are unchanging entities that exist separately from their psychological information. Objections have been derived from reductionistic views that value our future experiences in a way that declines with time, so that there will be a future point beyond which only negligible value accrues. If we adopt such a view, then we cannot now be concerned to have experiences beyond that point. I argue that these arguments fail to take into account all the reasons we might have to be concerned for the future and all kinds of such concern that come from them. The adoption of a plausible reductionistic account can arguably weaken our concern for the future and certainly change its quality in important ways. But this provides no objection to the desire to live forever, nor to live at all.